Boxes or cartons are generally made from cardboard by cutting a cardboard blank to the outside dimensions of the various walls and flaps, scoring the blank on the fold lines and slotting the blank between the various flaps so that it may be folded readily between the various walls and between the walls and flaps. In conventional box or carton forming equipment, the slotting and scoring heads are mounted in mated condition on two pairs of shafts. The slotting and scoring operations, in some instances along with trimming or the like, take place serially as the blank is fed into the nip between the paired shafts. Such that different sized boxes can be made on the same machine, the slotting and scoring heads are slidable on their respective shafts. Some provision must be made for holding them in selected position, however, for good cutting and, to some extent, good creasing action. In this connection, for example, it is particularly critical that the knives on the upper slotting heads be received cleanly in the lower or female slotting heads.
Conventionally, lateral movement of the slotting, scoring, trimming or like heads is controlled by guides which are received in a peripheral groove provided for this purpose in each head. As the guides and the grooves wear, however, the heads can move on their shafts causing misalignment as described above. This can be remedied by changing the heads and replacing the guides but the parts are costly and the cure takes the machine out of operation for a lengthy period of time.
In view of the above, there is a need for an improved guide which causes minimal wear and which can be adjusted in place on the machine for such wear as occurs. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide such a guide. Other objects and features of the invention will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter.
The invention accordingly comprises the constructions hereinafter described and their equivalents, the scope of the invention being indicated in the following claims.